Rising rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and large differences in diagnosis rates have led to fears that the condition is often being misdiagnosed. A new study demonstrates that these concerns are justified. Researchers found large discrepancies in diagnosis and treatment rates based on small differences in children's dates of birth.

Share:

Total shares:

FULL STORY

Rising rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and large differences in diagnosis rates have led to fears that the condition is often being misdiagnosed. A new study from North Carolina State University demonstrates that these concerns are justified. The researchers found large discrepancies in diagnosis and treatment rates based on small differences in children's dates of birth.

"The question we asked was whether children who are relatively young compared to their classroom peers were more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD," says Dr. Melinda Morrill, a research assistant professor of economics at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the study. "To answer the question, we looked at children born shortly before the kindergarten eligibility cutoff date and children born shortly after the cutoff date and compared the rates of ADHD diagnosis and treatment."

The researchers figured that children born just a few days apart should have the same underlying risk of having ADHD. So finding a significant difference in diagnosis rates between children born only a few days apart is strong evidence of medically inappropriate diagnosis.

Morrill explains that the study shows that children born just after the kindergarten cutoff date were 25 percent less likely to be diagnosed as having ADHD than children born just before the cutoff date. "This indicates that there are children who are diagnosed (or not) because of something other than underlying biological or medical reasons.

"We believe that younger children may be mistakenly diagnosed as having ADHD, when in fact they are simply less mature," Morrill says.

Morrill stresses that "we are not downplaying the existence or significance of ADHD in children. What our research shows is that similar students have significantly different diagnosis rates depending on when their birthday falls in relation to the school year."

For the study, the researchers examined data from two national health surveys and a national private health insurance claims database to evaluate rates of ADHD diagnosis and treatment in children. The data sources covered different time periods ranging from 1996 to 2006.

The paper was co-authored by Morrill, Dr. William N. Evans of the University of Notre Dame, and Stephen T. Parente of the University of Minnesota.

July 31, 2015  School is just around the corner, which means backpacks and packed lunches await your children. One expert offers tips for parents to promote healthy dental habits while away from ... read more

July 29, 2015  By blocking the expression of a certain gene in patients, researchers have contributed to the demonstration of great decreases in the concentration of triglycerides in their ... read more

July 29, 2015  Viewing aquarium displays led to noticeable reductions in blood pressure and heart rate, a research team found in the first study of its kind. They also noted that higher numbers of fish helped to ... read more

Nov. 22, 2013  New study reports that half of U.S. children diagnosed with ADHD received that diagnosis by age 6. The study found that an estimated two million more children in the United States (U.S.) have been ... read more

Aug. 28, 2013  New research suggests that children are far less likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the UK than they are in the US. However, the same study suggests that autism ... read more

Aug. 17, 2010  Nearly one million children in the United States are potentially misdiagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder simply because they are the youngest -- and most immature -- in their ... read more